"Have a piece of pie."

"No thanks", Lucas mumbled, pushing the saucer away.

Haley sighed as she planted her hands on what she could still reach of her hips.

"I just waddled like 20 feet to get into the kitchen to cut you the very last piece of the delicious peach pie that I woke up at two a.m. to bake because I couldn't sleep with all those damned hot flashes, the same pie I put sour cream on, that totally grossed my husband out, by the way. My fingers are swollen, I haven't seen my feet in months, and your evil brother keeps calling me Jimmy Dean."

"Jimmy Dean?"

Haley frowned.

"My toes are also swollen pretty bad and Nathan says they look like little sausage links."

Lucas peered down and laughed a real laugh for the first time in days. He had been trapped in a mental and emotional rut and had retreated to the safety of the apartment shared by his best friend slash sister and law, and his brother. Somehow Haley always seemed to make everything better. He picked a time to visit when Nathan was out so the two old friends could be alone.

"They do sort of…"

"Oh shut up and eat the damned pie!" Haley swatted him with a throw pillow before handing him a fork.

"It's really good, Hales", he said, between mouthfuls.

"Of course it is, I baked it and you love my pie. It's your mom's recipe. Hey, you know what? I could put some sour cream on it. It's really good and…"

"No, thanks, Hales."

"Suit yourself", she sighed. "You don't know what you're missing out on."

"Haley", he said quietly, as he wiped his mouth.

"You okay, Buddy? You look really sad. Talk to me."

"It's Peyton."

She nodded. What else could it be? Time still turned and life still went on but there was a huge hole in the very heart of Tree Hill. Peyton Sawyer was still missing and her mysterious disappearance had taken a toll on everyone.

"What's the matter?"

"I, I found something. I haven't told anybody yet. Not Larry or Mom or even Nathan."

Haley's brown eyes widened.

"What do you mean you found something? Luke!"

"No, no. Not like that. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I meant I found a recording."

"Of what?"

He took a deep breath.

"Of Peyton. It looks like she made it just a few days before she went missing. I found her digital recorder lost underneath my bed. I think she left it there accidentally, probably from that last night when she came to my house."

"Oh my God. Did you listen to it? What did it say?"

What didn't it say? Lucas was still in a state of shock.

"It, uh…Jesus, Hales, you're never gonna believe this because I can hardly believe it myself."

"Lucas…"

"She basically said that she loves me, like she's in love with me and that she had felt that way for the past two years. She talked about everything we've been through and how safe she feels with me but that she was still afraid. I don't know. It was crazy. I've listened to it over a dozen times already and I still can't wrap my head around it."

Haley swallowed hard.

"Why not?"

"Because. I don't know. Because it's Peyton, I guess. Our relationship was always weird and complicated."

"Yeah, in the beginning. But that was then, Luke. So much has changed since then. It was a different time and we were different people. Keith was still with us and you were still on the River Court. You and I both hated Nathan because he was the world's biggest jerk."

Lucas let out a sigh.

"Seems like a lifetime ago."

"But the feelings were always there, right? I mean, it was always something, this connection with you and Peyton."

"I know. You know, she almost hit me with her car once."

The corners of Haley's lips turned upwards into a smile.

"On purpose?"

"Nah. She was messing with the CD player and I wasn't really paying attention either. I'm headed home from the River Court and next thing I know, I'm like a half inch away from the front of her car."

"Was she sorry?"

"Yeah right. More like annoyed. I guess she kind of hated me for some reason back then. I had to tow her car once and I did the lyrics to this NOFX song. They're like one of her favorite bands but even then it was hard to figure out how Peyton was feeling, where her head was. She left her portfolio in her car that day. She was supposed to send it to THUD magazine but she chickened out at the last minute so I sort of sent it in for her. She was so pissed at me but I couldn't help it. She was just too good for the world to not see her, you know? She wanted people to care about her art and I guess I cared."

"Peyton wanted people to care about her."

"I guess I did that, too."

"Of course you did. That's why you went after her when you thought she was driving drunk and that's why you tried to take the blame when it was really Nathan that was driving her car. And you cared when she was having a real hard time with the anniversary of her mom's death and she was running every red light in town."

"I couldn't help it."

"None of us could. Remember that night we played at Pinkerton?"

Lucas couldn't help but laugh.

"Who could forget? Whitey threw Nate and me off the bus, we got kidnapped, had to buy douches in our underwear…"

"Those were the days", Haley playfully rolled her eyes. "But it was more than that. That was the first night I really talked to Peyton. For the first time she wasn't some unattainable piece of popularity. She was a person, a real person, hell, even a nice person. I guess that's sort of how our friendship began. It was fun. We're like speeding down this country road in the middle of the night singing at the top of our lungs with Brooke passed out in the back and lo and behold, the Brothers Scott just standing there in the middle of the road."

"Talk about a silent and uncomfortable ride home."

"Yeah but something else happened in that car that night and it changed our lives forever, Luke. That was the night you and I both realized our true feelings. I wanted to be with Nathan and you wanted Peyton."

"I was so attracted to her and it was so much more than physical. A few weeks later that night at Dan's party…I thought we were going to have it. I wanted it so bad and I actually thought it was gonna happen. And Peyt totally crushed me, I mean I got shot down."

"If it makes you feel any better, Nathan wasn't exactly a prince that night either. But it worked out."

"For who, Hales? You and Nathan made up and got your date and your kiss and you fell in love and the rest is history."

"It wasn't over for Nathan and me and it wasn't over for you and Peyton, either. Far from it. Because your heart wouldn't let it be over. You didn't stop caring. When that guy drugged her at the Duke party, who took care of her? Who went and got Peyton and stayed with her until she was okay?"

"Me."

"I think that was her wake up call. I think that's when she finally knew."

"Why didn't she say anything?"

Haley shrugged.

"I don't know. Would it have made a difference?"

"Yes. We would have been together, I never would have slept with Brooke…"

"That night, the night Peyton told you how she felt and Brooke was already there. What happened?"

Lucas closed his eyes. It was like he could still feel the intensity of that moment.

"I liked Brooke then. Don't get me wrong, I really did. She's a great girl. She was funny and pretty and I could just be myself and have fun with her. I liked that. I needed that but my heart was with Peyton. That's who I wanted but Peyton didn't want me back, or at least that's how she made it seem. So I moved on. Looking back, it was a stupid move to go to her best friend but Brooke was interested and Peyton wasn't. At first I thought it'd be all fun, games and sex with Brooke. I was down for that. I mean, she had a reputation but it's like it was more to her than that. I saw that side and I really started to like it and as more time passed, the more feelings Brooke developed for me. My mom was out of the country, I was getting over on poor Keith so I invited Brooke over that night to hook up. I mean, why not?"

"So she came over after the game?"

Lucas nodded.

"Yeah. And then there is a knock at the door and it's Peyton and I'm shocked, then she spills everything about what she wants with me and I have all of ten seconds to take it in before Brooke comes back half naked. Man, you should have seen the look on their faces."

"How did it end?"

"Peyton made up something about returning a CD and she split."

"Why'd you let her leave?"

"I didn't want to. I probably shouldn't have. I was just so shocked and Brooke was already there and she really did care for me. I didn't know what to do and before I could do anything, Peyton bailed. That changed everything, Haley."

"Not the feelings."

"Not the feelings but how could we act on them then? It was too awkward anyway. Brooke and I were basically a couple and Peyton already knew I was having sex with her best friend."

"Did you regret it?"

"It's hard to say. Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn't. The more time I spent with Brooke the better it got."

"But you still couldn't shake Peyton."

"No. And it didn't get easier when I met her dad. I used to worry about Peyt always alone in that big house. I felt protective of her. I used to be kind of angry at Larry not really being there. Then I met the guy and he's great. He really loves his daughter. I spent a lot of time with them and it's like I fit right in. I felt like it should have been that way but at the same time, I didn't want Brooke to get hurt. I thought I could handle it. Then we found out Larry might have been dead…"

"That's the weekend your grandparents came to town."

"Yeah. One minute, Peyton, Brooke and me are fixing up an old car for him and the next, there is a possibility the guy is dead. It was such an intense, surreal moment. I really felt for Peyt. She was so scared. She had already lost her mom. So we had to go to where the body was and identify it."

"I know you couldn't let her go through that alone."

"I couldn't. And it wasn't about us having a chance to sneak off together. I swear it never was like that. We never intended to do that to Brooke and our minds were only on one thing and that was Larry but it was like I really identified with her at that moment. Her fear, her pain. My dad was alive but at the time he may as well not have been. It sucked not having a father and that's exactly what Peyton was faced with. And for over seven years, she'd only had one parent to depend on and then in an instant, her world was being torn apart and she was faced with losing that. Mom is all I have and I tried to put myself in that position of what it would feel like if I was going to lose her."

"God, this is so Shakespearean. I mean it, Luke. But that was your chance right there. Your chance to make it right, to be together. But you guys ruined it by hooking up instead of just being honest with yourselves and Brooke."

"Almost hooking up, thank you very much, and it was the thought of Brooke that kept us from going all the way and making an even bigger mistake."

"I was so pissed at you when I found out. Pissed off and disappointed."

"I know. And Peyton and I were gonna do the right thing. We were going to tell Brooke."

"Then the accident happened."

"Yeah."

"That was so scary. Brooke was really there for you. She never left your side for a minute."

"Mom told me."

"Everybody was worried and everybody cared but we just handled it in different ways. Me, I couldn't visit you while you were unconscious like that. I felt guilty and horrible for fighting with you before it all happened. And Peyton? Well, her mom had died in that same hospital after a car accident. I guess it was too much for her. I guess she couldn't bare losing you like that, too. So she handled it in other ways. Remember that number 3 tribute she drew in chalk on the River Court?"

Lucas smiled fondly at the memory.

"It was amazing. I really appreciated it. In fact, I had a whole new appreciation for life itself. I guess almost dying can do that to you. It made me realize more than ever that it was all about Peyton."

"Till you collapsed at her house and Brooke found out everything?"

"Haley James Scott, thrill assassin."

"What?" she smiled. "That's how it happened."

"True. But I couldn't be with Brooke anymore. I was lying to myself and it wasn't right or fair to anybody. Life is way too short and precious and fragile for that."

"You're right but I guess too much had happened by then."

"Brooke and Peyton were best friends, I mean closer than close. I hurt both of them and I screwed up their friendship. It was hard to have that on my conscience. At that point, we all just needed to chill. I realized it was best to be just friends with both of them and after everything that happened, even that seemed like a long shot then. With Peyton, the whole friendship thing seemed to be a little easier."

"Probably because Brooke hated both your guts."

"Probably", he chuckled.

"But is that why you left or tried to leave with Keith when you guys went to Charleston."

"I was running away, Hales, plain and simple. But when we came back, everything had changed. Dan's heart attack…your marriage. I realized I had to face everything head on and deal with it like a man. So I took a good, long look in the mirror and decided to make some personal changes. I worked on getting closer with my brother and trying to understand my father. And I got to be friends, real friends with Brooke and Peyton. That was great. Life was finally feeling like how it was supposed to. We were all being teenagers and just having fun."

"Yeah", Haley remembered. "We did have some good times. Dare Night? It all felt so good, felt so right. I thought with Anna you had finally moved on."

"So did I and she was an awesome girl. It probably could have happened but Brooke…"

"Why? What's with the yo yo effect? Did you really love Brooke or just hate Felix?"

Lucas made a face.

"Both. But my feelings for Brooke were real. That's the funny thing about friendship. I was able to see Brooke in a different light. She had changed and matured so much. I fell hard for her."

"Do you regret it now? The second go round?"

"Hell no. Live and learn, right? Besides, Brooke and I have some beautiful memories and I know Jake and Peyton do, too. I'd never want to take that away. My feelings for Brooke were very real but she did leave that summer before senior year and I didn't hear a peep out of her for three whole months."

"That was a trying summer for us all. The fire, Nathan and me estranged…him at High Flyers, me on the road with my parents in an RV trying to figure out how to save what was left of my marriage. It was just you and Peyton."

"It was. I don't think there was a single day that passed that summer where we didn't see or at least talk to each other. With Ellie showing up and dropping the birth mother bomb and Jake taking off, it was a pretty low time for Peyton. With Brooke gone and Nathan mad at me and pulling Dan from a fire I watched Deb set…hell, I wasn't in a much better place."

"Misery loves company."

"Pretty much or at least that's what they say. But all I know is if it weren't for Peyt, I would have gone insane."

"I'm sure the feeling is mutual."

"We really became close. We really got each other. I felt really understood by her. It was like this unbreakable bond of trust and loyalty. We were each other's only confidant for a while. Then summer ended and it was back to school. You and Nathan sorted through your troubles, Brooke and I became a couple and Peyton lost another mom."

"I felt so horrible for her. And then Jimmy Edwards…"

"That was a crazy day. You get up in the morning and you feel good and it's a day like any other day and your biggest worry is a Calculus test. Then somebody pulls a gun and the whole world changes."

"Peyton and I talked about that day. I don't know if you know it or not, but you really saved her that day and I'm not just talking about rescuing her out of the library. That's heroic enough but it's more than that. Trapped in the Tutor Center, I can't begin to tell you how terrified I was. Lucas, I would have completely lost it but you know why I didn't? Because Nathan was right there by my side. And you just being there for Peyton, being with her in the library definitely saved her sanity before you saved her life. You're a hero."

He shook his head.

"Everybody keeps saying that but I'm not. I did what anybody in my shoes would have done. Besides, I couldn't just leave her. She was so scared. I was scared."

"It's not brave if you're not scared."

"We talked. We talked a lot about everything. I just didn't want her to go to sleep on me. There was so much blood. So I just held her and kept talking to her and promising her everything would be alright and she…Peyton kissed me. At that point, I knew I couldn't let her down. I had to help her."

"You did more than help her. You risked your life to save hers."

"And I'd do it again."

"I know you would", she rubbed his arm.

"She was really there for me with the whole Keith thing. It's been hard without him and Peyton has been a good friend. Unfortunately, she knows a lot about loss."

"Look at how much we've all been through, you and Peyton in particularly. There is a connection there, a bond. I know you're a good guy, Lucas and I know you really were in love with Brooke at a time just like I know what Jake and Peyton had was real."

"What are you saying?"

She gave a small smile as she punched his arm.

"What the hell have we been talking about the last half hour? Lucas, it's Peyton and it's always been Peyton. She is your soul mate and you love her. You two were meant to be, can't you see that? And it bewilders me that you can sit here and actually claim to be surprised about that recording. I knew her true feelings all along and that was before she even told me."

"Wait…Haley, you knew?"

"And so did you. Fate gave you guys time to grow and be apart and do other things but when it comes down to it, where do you always end up?"

Tears filled Lucas' eyes. Haley was exactly right and why had it taken him so long to see it? He had been a fool. He had just relived the last two years of his life and finally there was the plain and simple truth as to where his heart belonged.

"I love Peyton."

"Duh", Haley grinned.

"No, I mean it. Haley, I am in love with Peyton."

"Took you long enough."

"Oh my God. All this time…it was always there."

"For both of you."

"I've been so stupid. Look at how much time we've, I've wasted. Peyt and I belong together. I love her. She loves me."

"Exactly."

A wave of sadness washed over him.

"Hales…what if, what if I don't get to tell her?"

Haley blinked away tears.

"Don't think like that. You and Peyton will get your shot. God knows you both deserve it. But you have to have faith and I know you do, Lucas. You're my rock, all of our rocks. When we lose our faith, it's you that restores it."

"I don't know if I'm strong enough."

"I do because you are. You have to be for Peyton. You have saved her so many times before, please don't stop now because she needs you more than ever."

Lucas closed his eyes. He thought about that smile, that goofy laugh…those incredible green eyes. She was his heart and once again she needed him. He had to find her so they could make things right. And more than ever, Lucas Scott was determined. He summoned all his strength. After all, he was going to need it.